Purse



Feb.. 2l, 1967 Filed Feb. 24, 196e INVENTORS: ISADORE GUTERMAN NORBERTFROST I I I I l I T i I l I I fi I I I u I I l I I l l I I I 2 44 M;q/gww@ lIIIVIV5551555152r 5555 IIIIIIIIIIIIJIIIIIIIIIT I mr ,Il 2 `nl:

'III-I EIR ATTORN EYS Feb. 21, 1967 l. GUTERMAN ETAL PURSE mMT 2 NRS i.EEO e TR e0 hO NG S/ am m7 RE OBY S@ @WB 2F 5N 6 9 .m O O 0 f w wml 4/2 6 P 5 A 6 1 G. wm l 1 G .4' Il 2F b. e F d l l I l l I I I l l l I I Il l l I I l I i l I l l l I l l I I I l I Il e l .l F

THEIR ATTORNEYS `United States Patent() PURSE Isadore Guterman, HowardBeach, N.Y.. andvNorbert Frost, Tenally, NJ., assignors to Adam-StevenLeather sGoolcils, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New or FiledFeb. 24, 1966` Ser. No. 529,706

- 3 Claims. (Cl. 150-29) This invention relates in general to a newimproved -ipurse which is suitable for being held in the hand and, moreparticularly, to a purse which has a plurality of compartments at leastone of which is designed to expand .laterally to accommodate the storageof bulky items within the compartment.

More specifi-cally, the purse incorporating this inven- -tionhas aplurality of separate compartments each of which has a set .of flatinterior and exterior side walls.

These compartments are arranged with their flat side surfaces inparallel planes and are attached together at positions which are spacedfrom t-he .lower or upper extremityor the side extremities of each ofthe attached compartments. Thus, the portions of the fastened sidewalls, which lie between these fastening means and the edges of thecompartments, can move laterally away from each other thereby expandingthe enclosure within the compartment and providing a storage area -forbulky items such as lipstick containers, compacts, and the like.

j The' user of the purse described herein need no longer vbe Lfacedwitl1`.the choice between an attractive small purse with limitedcarrying capacity Tand the larger, bulky, 1

and for many occasions unattractive., handbag. When using the pursedisclosed herein, it is possible to -enjoy `a far greater degree thanheretofore possible by separatling the frequently used items '.fromthose less frequently used.

It is also envisioned that this multiple enclosure concept can be usedin' combination with the expandable compartment concept in the clutchpurse orhand purse disclosedherein. Thus, thel random disorder' normallyassociated withthe sin-gle compartment or enclosure hand bag canlbeavoided.`

lOther advantages and a fuller understanding of this invention may behad by referring to the following description and claims taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE l1 shows a elevational side view of a purse `in which'theinvention may be incorporated;

`FIGUR-E 2 is an elevational view ofthe opposite side of the purse shownin FIG. 1;

lFIGURE 3 illustrates a cross-sectional end view of the u purse shown inFIG; l in a closed position taken along the line 3 3;

` FIGURE 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the purse shown in FIG. 1 inan open position taken along the lines `3-3;

FIGURE 5 shows an elevational side View of a purse incorporating asecond embodiment of the invention;

, FIGUREl 6 is an elevational side view of the purse Vshown in FIG. 5with one compartment in an opened position; Y

` FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional end view of the purse 3,334,978 PatentedFeb. 21, 1967 ICC shown in F-IG. 5 in a closed position taken along thelines 77; and

FIGU'RiE 8 is a cross-sectional end view of the purse shown in FIG. 6 inan opened position taken along the lines 8 8.

With reference to the drawing, the invention is illustrated as beingincorporated in a purse indicated :generally lbythe `reference character10. As illustrated, the purse 10 is composed olf a central compartment12 having two relatively flat -wide side walls 14 yand 16. The side wall14 has a rim 19 extending along its upper surface which defines theopening to the central compartment 12 and which has a locking element 18attached to its substantially adjacent the center of the purse 10.Similarly, the side wall 116 has an upper rim 21 extending across itsupper surface which also defines the o-pening to compartment 12 andwhich has a locking element 20 vattached to the central portion of itsupper surface.

A central dividing wall 2.2 is fastened in a position between the sidewalls 14 and 16 by hinges 26 thereby forming enclosures 15 and 17 withincompartment 12. The upper edge of the dividing wall 22 supports rim 23to which locking post 24 is attached at its midpoint. Locking post 24 ispositioned in such a manner that either locking element 18 or 20, orboth, can 'be snapped into lfri-ctional engagement with post 24 when onewishes to close enclosures 15 and 17 of compartment 12.

In the irst embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5, a side compartment 28 iscomposed of two relatively tlat side wa-lls 34 and 36 and isl attachedto central compartment 1.2l iby stitches orfaStening means 30 and 32which are 'spaced from the upper and lower extremities of t-he purse 12respectively .and lby the two longitudinal rows of lstitches orfastening means 31 and 33 which are spaced from'the ends 39 an-d 41 ofthe purse 12 and from the stitches 35 and 37 adjacent these ends 39 and41.

The inner chamber 43 of side compartment 28 may -be reached by openingflap 38 which contains a releasable snap 40 which is designed to befrictionally held in snap recess 42 which is located on the outersurface o-f side 36.

A third compartment 4, it attached to the opposite side of centralcompartment 12 and is composed of two relatively llat side walls 46 and48, connected along their side extremities by rows o-f stitches 55 and57. The side 46 of compartment 44 is attached to the outer surf-ace ofwall 16 by stitching or fastening means 50 and 52 which .are spacedrespectively from the lower and upper extremities of the compartments 12and 44. Similarly, the vertical stitching or fastening means 51 and 53attach the wall 46 of compartment 44 to wall 16 of compartment 12 andare spaced from the side extremities or ends 39 and 41 of the purse 10.As shown in FIG. 2 the wall 4S of compartment 44 contains a zipperedopening 54 through which one may deposit items in or remove items fromenclosure 56. It will be understood that the compartments 28 and 44 mayhave zipper closure-s or flap closures, as desired.

Another embodiment of a clutch purse which incorporates this invention,is shown in FIGS. 5-8 and illustrated -generally by the referencecharacter 60. The purse 60 is composed of a rst compartment 62 which, asshown in Athe closed position in FIG. 7, has two side walls 64 and 66.In addition, the compartment 62 has an extendable lower portion 68, asshown in FIG. 8, which is composed of side walls 70 and 72. Thisextendable portion 68 is held in the folded position shown in FIG. 7 byfastening means 94 which is located on the outer surface of wall portion70 and which is designed to engage and lock with the fastening element92 on the inner surface of the closing flap 90.

When the purse 60 is in the opened position shown in FIG. 8 the chamber74 is formed within the lining 76 which `is fastened to the upperportion of walls 66 and 68. Similarly, a second chamber 78 is formed onone side by lining 82 which is fastened between the lower portion ofintermediate wall 77 and the lower fastening means 87 and, on the otherside, lby lining 80` which extends between the lower portion of sidewall 66 and the lower fastening means 87. Finally, chamber 86 is formedlbetween lining 82 and the inner surface of the wall 72.

Chamber 86 may be reached through Zipper opening 88 and access tochamber 78 may be obtained through zipper opening 84 between walls 66and 77 whereas access to chamber 74 is obtained by separating rim 98,which extends across the upper surface of wall 66, from rim 102 whichextends across the upper extremity of wall 64. A snap clasp memberfriction lock 96 is attached to the central portion of rim 98 and isdesigned to engage and disengage a snap clasp member friction lock 100which is attached to the central portion of rim 102, thereby sealing oropening chamber 74.

A second compartment 104, which is composed of relatively flat sidewalls 6 and 108, is fastened to side walls 64 of compartment 62 bystitching or fastening means 110 and 112 which extend horizontally andare spaced from the lower and upper extremities respectively of thechambers 66 and 104. Similarly, the stitching or fastening ymeans 114and 116, which extend in a vertical direction as shown in FIG. 5, fastenwall 106 of compartment 104 to wall 64 of compartment 62, but are spacedfrom the side extremities or ends 125 and 127 of purse 60. Access tochamber 120 within compartment 104 may be obtained through the openingprovide-d by zipper element 118. A fiap closure may, of course, besubstituted for the zipper closure 118.

The first embodiment of the purse shown in FIGS. l-4 contains threeseparate compartments 12, 28 and 44, all of which are easily expandableand capable of storing bulky items such as lipstick containers, powdercornpacts, key rings and the like. Thus, the woman who desires to carrya hand purse nolonger needs to forego carrying many of the necessary ordesirable articles which she may have become accustomed to carrying whenusing a la-rge handbag.

T-he purse described herein maintains its overall lon- .gitudinalmeasurements but permits lateral expansion to accommodate the aboveenumerated items. This lateral expansion is achieved by fastening thethree -compart- .ments together at positions which are spaced from theupper, lower or side extremities of each compartment. Thus, the factthat fastening means 32 which attaches compartment 28 to centralcompartment 12 is spaced substantially above the lower extremities ofcompartments 28 and 12 permits the lower sections of walls 14 and 34,which are located below fastening means 32, to separate and rotateoutwardly away from each other and around fastening means 32 therebypermitting the expansion above the chamber 43 and .chamber 17.Similarly, the spacing of the longitudinal fastening means 31 from theedge or end 39 or the longitudinal fastening means 33 from the edge orend 41 permits the portions of walls '14 .and 34 |between the fasteningmeans 31 or 33 and edges .39 or 41 to sepa-rate and rotate lin oppositedirections .around fastening means 31 and 33I thereby also contributingto the expansion of compartments 17 and 43. Finally, the spacing of theupper fastening means 30 below the upper edges of compartments 12 and 28also contributes to the lateral expansion of the enclosures 17 and 43and the separation of the upper portions of the side walls 34 and 14,which lie between the fastening means 30 and the upper edges ofcompartments 12 and 28, away from each other. Similarly, the spacing offastening surfaces 50, 51, 52 `and 53 away from the edges ofcompartments 12 land 14 provide for the lateral expansion of the extremelower, upper and side portions of side walls 46 and 16.

The second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 5 8, not only discloses theconcept of an expandable compartment 104 which is attached to the maincompartment 62 by internally spaced fastening means 110, 112, 114 and116, but also discloses an extendablecompartment 62 containing aplurality of separate chambers 74, 77 and 86 which provide the user ofthe purse with an extensive opportunity to organize the various articleswhich are being carried. In this second embodiment the enclosure ofcompartment 104 is designed to accommodate the bulkier items which havesubstantial dimensions in three directions whereas, for example,compartment 86 is suitable for holding a checkbook and compartments 78and 74 separate items which are substantial in only two dimensions.A Inaddition, compartments 78 and 86 could contain the items which are lessfrequently used whereas compartments 74 and 120 are placed in a morereadily accessible position and designed to contain the more frequentlyused items. Thus, when using a purse incorporating this invention theuser moves directly to the enclosure containing the desired item withoutsearching through all of the contents of the purse.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, other embodiments are envisioned which fall within thescope of this invention. For example, the zipper fasteners describedabove are completely interchangeable with other fastening means such assnap fasteners and can be substituted for these fastening means inalternate arrangements not shown in detail herein. Thus, it is to beunderstood that the present disclosure has been made only by way ofexample and that numerous changes in the details of construction and thecombination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereafterclaimed.

We claim:

1. A purse suitable for being carried inthe hand and adapted to expandlaterally in order to store bulky items comprising a first compartmenthaving two fiat side walls joined at least partially around the edgesthereof and form ing an enclosure having an access opening, firstclosure means for the access opening of said first compartment,

a second compartment having two flat side walls joined at leastpartially around the edges thereof and forming an enclosure having anaccess opening, second closure means for the access opening of saidsecond compartment, and

means for fastening a panel-like portion of the oute surface of one ofsaid flat side walls of said first compartment to a correspondingportion of the upper and outer surface of one of said fiat side walls ofsaid second compartment, said fastening means being spaced inwardly fromthe lower extremities and the end extremities of said first and secondcompartments whereby the portions of said fastened side walls of saidfirst and second compartments, which are located outwardly of saidfastening means, can move laterally away from each other in order toexpand at least the enclosure within said second compartment and permitthe storage of bulky items therein, said first compartment being afoldable compartment which may be released and extended to a positionsubstantially below the lower extremity of said second compartment, saidfirst compartment having a plurality of individual closure means whichmay be opened and closed when said first compartment is in the saidextended position.

2. A purse suitable for being carried in Athe hand and adapted to expandlaterally in order to store bulky items comprising a first compartmenthaving two fiat side walls each having upper, lower and end extremitiesand at least one of said walls having a panel-like portion with edgesspaced inwardly from said extremities of said side walls, said lowerextremities of said side walls being connected and said end extremitiesof said side walls being stitched directly together and forming anenclobeing connected and said end extremities of said side walls beingstitched directly together and forming a third enclosure having anaccess opening, third closure means for said access opening of saidthird sure having an access opening, rst enclosure means 5 compartment,and for said access opening of said rst compartment, a second means forfastening said panel-like portion of a second compartment having twoflat side walls each said one of said at side walls of said thirdcomparthaving upper, lower and end extremities and at least ment Ito apanel-like portion of the Side wall of said one of said walls having apanel-like portion with rst compartment which is on the side oppositesaid edges spaced inwardly from said extremities of said secondcompartment, said second fastening means beside Walls, said lowerextremities of said side walls ing spaced a substantial distance fromthe upper and being connected and said end extremities of said sidelower extremities and the end extremities of said rst walls beingstitched directly together and forming an and third compartments wherebythe portions of said enclosure having an access opening, second closurefastened side walls of said rst and third compartmeans for said accessopening of said second cornments, which lie outwardly of said secondfastening partment, and means, can move laterally away from each otherin means for fastening said panel-like portion of said one order toexpand at least theV enclosures within said of said flat walls of saidfirst compartmnt to said second and third compartments and permit thestorpanel-like portion of said one of said at walls of age of bulkyitems therein. said second compartment, said fastening means beingspaced inwardly a substantial distance from the upper References Citedby the Examiner and lower extremities and `the end extremities of saidUNITED STATES PATENTS first and second compartments whereby the portionsof said fastened side walls of said rst and second ehnan compartments,which are located outwardly of said 1939657 12/1933 Btem er fasteningmeans, can move laterally away from each rosseau 15`0`30 other in orderto expand at least the enclosure within References Cited by theApplicant ystcnriltsltcrrrlrtment and permit the storage of UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3. A purse suitable for being carried in the hand and1,390,049 9/1921 Langleb' adapted to expand laterally in order to storebulky items 1,434,92'6 11/1922 Sternberas defined in claim 2, furthercomprising 2,029,686 2/1936 Wehflera third compartment having two atside walls, each 2,068,058 1/1937 LeW1S- having upper, lower and endextremities and at least 2,827,093 3/1958 Sheneld et a1- one of saidwalls having a panel-like portion with 2,844,179 7/1958 Komtedges spacedinwardly from said extremities of said side walls, said lowerextremities of said side Walls FRANKLIN T' GARRETT Primary Examine'.'

1. A PURSE SUITABLE FOR BEING CARRIED IN THE HAND AND ADAPTED TO EXPANDLATERALLY IN ORDER TO STORE BULKY ITEMS COMPRISING A FIRST COMPARTMENTHAVING TWO FLAT SIDE WALLS JOINED AT LEAST PARTIALLY AROUND THE EDGESTHEREOF AND FORMING AN ENCLOSURE HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING, FIRST CLOSUREMEANS FOR THE ACCESS OPENING OF SAID FIRST COMPARTMENT, A SECONDCOMPARTMENT HAVING TWO FLAT SIDE WALLS JOINED AT LEAST PARTIALLY AROUNDTHE EDGES THEREOF AND FORMING AN ENCLOSURE HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING,SECOND CLOSURE MEANS FOR THE ACCESS OPENING OF SAID SECOND COMPARTMENT,AND MEANS FOR FASTENING A PANEL-LIKE PORTION OF THE OUTER SURFACE OF ONEOF SAID FLAT SIDE WALLS OF SAID FIRST COMPARTMENT TO A CORRESPONDINGPORTION OF THE UPPER AND OUTER SURFACE OF ONE OF SAID FLAT SIDE WALLS OFSAID SECOND COMPARTMENT, SAID FASTENING MEANS BEING SPACED INWARDLY FROMTHE LOWER EXTREMITIES AND THE END EXTREMITIES OF SAID FIRST AND SECONDCOMPARTMENTS WHEREBY THE PORTIONS OF SAID FASTENED SIDE WALLS OF SAIDFIRST AND SECOND COMPARTMENTS, WHICH ARE LOCATED OUTWARDLY OF SAIDFASTENING MEANS, CAN MOVE LATERALLY AWAY FROM EACH OTHER IN ORDER TOEXPAND AT LEAST THE ENCLOSURE WITHIN SAID SECOND COMPARTMENT AND PERMITTHE STORAGE OF BULKY ITEMS THEREIN, SAID FIRST COMPARTMENT BEING AFOLDABLE COMPARTMENT WHICH MAY BE RELEASED AND EXTENDED TO A POSITIONSUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF SAID SECOND COMPARTMENT, SAIDFIRST COMPARTMENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL CLOSURE MEANS WHICHMAY BE OPENED AND CLOSED WHEN SAID FIRST COMPARTMENT IS IN THE SAIDEXTENDED POSITION.